Oh say, how much do you know about the national anthem?

Star Swain was just on a normal family vacation to Washington, D.C. until she started singing at the Lincoln Memorial. Now, her voice has been heard across the nation.

U-M scholar lists 8 misconceptions about 'The Star-Spangled Banner'

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Fans stand as a large American flag is draped across the field before the start of the Detroit Tigers opening day game against the New York Yankees on Friday April 8, 2016, at Comerica Park in downtown Detroit.(Photo: Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo

That's why Clague — the founding board chairman of the Star Spangled Music Foundation and editor and producer of the "Star Spangled Songbook" and its associated recording project "Poets & Patriots: A Tuneful History of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'" — has compiled a list of common misconceptions about the song.

Here's eight of them. Click on the myth number for more detail.

Myth No. 1: Francis Scott Key was held prisoner aboard a British ship during the bombardment of Baltimore when he penned what would become our nation's national anthem. Reality: Key was aboard his own American truce ship during the battle.

Myth No. 2: Key drafted "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the back of an envelope or letter. Reality: Most likely, Key wrote his draft on a clean sheet of paper using pen and ink.

Myth No. 3: Key wrote a "poem" later set to music by someone else. Reality: "The Star-Spangled Banner" was always conceived of by Key as a song, and he wrote his "lyric" to fit a specific melody of his own choosing.

Myth No. 4: Key's "Banner" is based on the melody of a bawdy old English drinking song. Reality: "The Anacreontic Song" was the constitutional anthem of an elite, London-based, amateur music society.

Myth No. 5: "The Star-Spangled Banner" as baseball's game day ritual begins with Babe Ruth and the 1918 World Series. Reality: The earliest documented performance in pro sports was on opening day at a baseball game in 1862.

Myth No. 6: A 1931 act of Congress made "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official anthem of the U.S. Reality: This is absolutely correct in terms of the anthem's legal status, but the bill approved by the House and Senate and signed by President Herbert Hoover simply recognized what had been true in American cultural practice for decades.

Myth No. 7: There is a sanctioned traditional or otherwise official version of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Reality: The 1931 act making Key's song America's anthem does not identify an official arrangement, in part because the song as sung in the 20th Century had already departed from what Key had known. During World War I, attempts were made to codify the arrangement, resulting in both a military "service version" and a "standardized version" endorsed by the Department of Education.

Myth No. 8: A mug shot offers proof of composer Igor Stravinsky's arrest by the Boston Police for desecrating a national symbol after conducting a performance of his own arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner" with the Boston Symphony. Reality: The well-known image is not associated with an arrest at all, but it is true that Stravinsky's anthem was controversial. The supposed mug shot is actually part of Stravinsky's 1940 visa application for residence in the U.S.

Clague began studying the song as part of a class on musical history he taught at U-M. He was using the performance of the anthem by Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock to teach his students about the song's meaning and what the artist was trying to communicate. That led him to do more research on the anthem.

"This song really becomes a statement about what it means to be an American," he told the Free Press. "All of us have some sort of relationship with that song. It has a resonance that cuts across demographics."

It was common in the 19th Century to rewrite lyrics to songs — there are more than 100 sets of lyrics around this song, including an 1844 abolitionist version written in Michigan.

As for the enduring popularity of Key's version? That came from the timing and his words.

"Key caught the right moment," Clague said. "The War of 1812 was seen as a second American Revolution. National pride was weak. Victory over the British led to an infusion of patriotism. Key's lyrics are also somewhat abstract. There's no reference to Ft. McHenry or even to himself. He uses the word "you" to place you there.

"It used to be played much faster. It was a party song — a victory song. Now it's the sacred hymn of our country."